Beriah Hlairyn
Beriah Hlairyn was the recently removed high priest and speaker of Vorshangrax. As an NPC, he was played by Kuchirikato. Description Appearance Doctor Beriah Hlairyn was a man who had been affected by his age. He had a slight hunch and his head was in a state of looking slightly downwards all the time. This was due to extensive hours of his life looking down upon a desk to do his work with medicine and surgeries. He walked with a cane to stabilize himself. His hair was a silvered gray, and his small eyes were a violent blood red. He was often seen wearing a white button-up shirt or in a long white jacket. Both of these options are worn with long black pants and black dress shoes. During the arc in Ajod, Beriah Hlairyn wore a red, feathered mask over his upper face along with a black tuxedo. Personality Beriah Hlairyn had been described as by his fellow workers as "a calm man, yet quick to anger." He spoke in a rough, calmer, Australian accent and moved very little during his speech. When preparing to talk for a long time, he'll invite people to sit down with him and he would often have a drink with them. Beriah Hlairyn would get quickly angered by any petty or futile attempts to disobey him or any of the little true kindness he offered. If someone opposed him or insulted, he'll often resort to yelling and demands. He was not wise with talking with the younger generations, and would often make flat jokes at very awkward points in conversation. Biography Background Beriah Hlairyn grew up with his father Tanmar in the older capital city of Drova: Dragonclaw. He was born, along with his brother, on the day before Ashton Hlairyn had returned to Drova. During his early years, he witnessed the drama between his uncle and the curses that were laid upon the Drow people. Not knowing what the words meant at the time, Beriah was quick to forgive Ashton. During his teenage years, he was personally recruited by the Dragon-God Vorshangrax to take up his demands. Beriah quickly accepted this role and began work on anatomy and medicines. He learned fast, and just after ten years was able to complete his first task from Vorshangrax. He would continue his work, believing fully that the people he had to kill as failed subjects were sacrifices to Vorshangrax, and that his successes would bless Drova and his ill brother, who had become the king during his absence. He quickly married his medical assistant, and they would have a daughter in the next few years. The Drider Project Beriah had been tasked by Vorshangrax to attempt to weld a Drow to a different animal. Since his workplace was an absolute mess, he decided his first attempts would be on cockroaches. Taking subjects as death-row prisoners from various Drow dungeons, he would fail again and again. He, of course, would later switch to using the second most abundant lifeform in his possession, the spider, but his attempts with cockroaches totaled to just over a hundred dead, failed subjects with no progress. After he had begun to switch attempts to spiders, he was called by Vorshangrax to Dragonclaw. Upon arrival, he was tasked with managing a new, mixed set of prisoners. Along with a random Drow girl named Arcana. Arcana would attempt to escape on the way back to Beriah's hospital. Her foot was cut off as a result of Beriah's frustration with her and his projects. He tested the other prisoners, all of them failures. He then decided to choose Arcana. Arcana was a success. He demonstrated her to Vorshangrax, before letting her roam free as he returned to his workplace with a new task: to achieve immortality. Dakon's Rule and the Affliction The Affliction had hit Drova hard in the first week of it's arrival. With Vorshangrax's disappearance, Beriah had assumed that the land had been cursed for his own foolishness. He began to work on a cure, yet by the time he had figured out how the females were dying, they had all died off. This also included Beriah's daughter and wife, along with Filseng's wife. Filseng later died, heartbroken and immensely stressed with what his kingdom had gone through. Dakon took the throne at this time. Beriah took the time to try to relax by visiting his home city on a vacation. Here, Arcana approached Beriah again and attempted to assassinate him. Beriah's built-up stress and fear finally snapped after this action, and he stabbed Arcana through the neck, evaporating her with necrotic energy. After Arcana's group left, Beriah spent the next half a year by himself in his hospital. Until he received a letter from his nephew, who had now decided to banish him from Drova after a new religious force, the Cult of the Yellow Sun, had managed to convert Dakon. Beriah left the kingdom and traveled to Ajod, where he apologized to Malcom and told him as much as he could remember. Beriah later moved his uncle, Ashton, to Silverkeep. Afterwards, he attempted to assassinate Dakon in Zolurix. He failed and was captured. He later was killed following the arrival of Asza. Relationships Ashton Hlairyn After the death of Filseng, Beriah tasked himself with taking care of his elderly uncle Ashton. Beriah would make trips north, giving Ashton newly-developed pain medicine, and acted as a companion and a friend to the old man. Arcana Eilsani Beriah's opinions of Arcana have fluctuated for the whole time he had known her. Upon first contact, he was excited and giddy, explaining to her that she had an incredible title and honor because of Vorshangrax's choice. After a while, though, he learned of her spontaneous, rebellious nature, and would grow angry with her very quickly. His pride would return upon her transformation to a Drider, where he reportedly hugged the unconscious girl. He'd keep her in his mind as his greatest accomplishment, until he had killed her. It took around an hour for him to process what had happened, leading him to his seclusion in his hospital, where he mourned and continued to blame himself for the Drow's failure. Dakon Hlairyn Although Beriah believes he doesn't hate anyone, Dakon was a major exception. Beriah feels as though he contradicts every single idea and policy that Dakon has, and he had openly shamed his nephew's rule in public (risking his execution). His banishment only caused him to anger more, as Dakon had not only been an "absolute, uncontrollable idiot" during his rule, but now the child was abandoning the religion that had stayed in Drova for millennia. Character Information Notable Items * Beriah's rapier, Kataimyyk, was a steel-and-silver rapier with onyx gems across the guard and hilt. It was more ceremonial than practical. * Beriah's book on medicine and doctoring, entitled A Priest's Guide to Doctoring was commonly found in many places across eastern Lerania. Abilities Drow Abilities * Darkvision (Superior - 120 Feet) * Fey Ancestry * Keen Senses * Trance * Sunlight Sensitivity * Drow Magic Cleric Abilities * Spellcasting * Channel Divinity: Turn Undead * Destroy Undead * Divine Intervention Death Domain Abilities * Reaper * Channel Divinity: Touch of Death * Inescapable Destruction * Divine Strike Barbarian Abilities * Rage * Unarmored Defense * Reckless Attack * Danger Sense * Extra Attack Path of the Zealot * Divine Fury * Warrior of the Gods Special Powers * Improved Metallic Armor: Any attack made on Beriah had 10 damage taken off of it. If the attack does negative damage from this, it was treated as zero damage. * Blade Catch: As a reaction every other turn, Beriah can reach forward and catch the weapon of whoever had just attacked him in melee. If the attacker fails a DC (12+Proficiency Bonus+Main Modifier) Strength Save, their weapon was broken and will do half damage until repaired. * Vorshangrax's Will: Beriah had a PERMANENT 25% resistance to fire damage, necrotic damage, and holy damage. If knocked to zero hit points or less by these, he instantly regains ten hit points back. Quotes * "For Drowkind!" Trivia * Hlairyn rolled a 2.5. Category:NPCs